“8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:8-9
Brothers and Sisters, our Lord Jesus is Long Suffering for the Lost and for His Children, enduring the Faithlessness that many seem to walk in their daily lives. You say you have Faith, You say you will do what Jesus says, You say …, but Your Actions speak against what you say and do.
Now before anyone says, “…I am Not Perfect…”, “…God Knows My Heart…” let see what Scriptures say about these two statements that a lot of people seem to fall into.
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
Matthew 5:48
“But let patience have [her] perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
James 1:4
“9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, [I] try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, [and] according to the fruit of his doings.”
Jeremiah 17:9-10
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
in departing from the living God.”
Hebrews 3:12
You say things and yet do not know what you are saying and do things not thinking of the consequences of your actions. Do you know that what you Confess With Your Mouth, is who you are, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
“33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by [his] fruit. 34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
Matthew 12:33-37
I Love what James says, “…by Faith…” our actions are known to who we are, they Represent the Controlling Factors Of Our Lives! Words have the Power of Life or Death in Your Life and can be in other people’s lives as well.
“18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”
James 2:18-20
“22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
James 1:22-25
Now herein we have a dilemma. We are to be Perfect, Holy before God, but Our Hearts are Wicked before God because of our Unbelief and Sins, yet my Works are to Show My Faith In Jesus that He Is Lord Of My Life! What are we to do? Where is the Answer to this Dilemma that I have. I Say and Do things that I do not want to really Say and Do…
You must understand the War, the fleshly and spiritual Battle that we are in. As long as we are here we will continue to Fight With The Flesh On Spiritual Matters. The Flesh wants one thing, but the Spirit wants something completely different.
Here is the Long Suffering Of Jesus Our Lord, The Christ. When we Fall, then Repent which is a Never Ending Cycle to those who are Blood Bought. We mess up all of the time and sometimes we do not even know that we have. Jesus Bears Our Lack Of Faith Continuously and will until we go home. Paul understood this dilemma and says this.
“13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that [it is] good. 17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is good I find not. 19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.”
Romans 7:13-21
We have this constant battle within us that at times seems uncontrollable, that seems to win at times. But Praise Jesus for His Long Suffering Towards Us!!! When We Fail, When We Fall, When We Sin AND, AND REPENT there is Grace!!! Thank You Jesus!!! We have to Live By Grace because We Are Imperfect and Must Depend upon Jesus to help us.
Now does this mean that we do not Strive To Be Perfect? Does this mean that because of Grace I can just Give Up and not worry about what I do because of Grace? NO, NO, NO, even more so, I must Strive Every Moment in my Life to do The Perfect Will Of God, but, I Must Choose To Do So! I must be aware of All that I Do and Say and I must Surrender My Will for God’s Will in my Life.
“12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? 17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.”
Romans 6:12-19
Again The Long Suffering of Jesus deals with our Falls, deals with our Sins, deals with our Unbelief Every Moment Of Our Lives, Every Day. Jesus had to deal with the disciples Unbelief over and over, but Jesus Never left them to be destroyed by Their Unbelief, Their Sin.
“24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. 27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth [his] hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.”
Matthew 14:24-32
Because of Peters’ Unbelief of Who Jesus is, he started to sink into the sea because he paid more attention to the World Around him then to God Who Was With Him! In a lot of cases we Allow the World Around us to determine our Actions, to determine what we Say instead of Believing Who Jesus Is In Us. We Allow the Ungodly to Council us on how to Live our lives, or Allow those who are full of Doubt or Unbelief to guide our Lives making us full of Unbelief, creating Sin In Our Lives.
Because of our Unbelief, Jesus Is Long Suffering, always having to help our Unbelief by Revealing Who He is To Us. We must not get comfortable in our Unbelief, thinking it does not matter because of Grace. We need to Walk In and With the Attitude and Assurance of Daniel, of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego always doing whatever Jesus says.
“6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”
Daniel 6:6-10
“16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we [are] not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver [us] out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
Daniel 3:16-18
The Long Suffering Of Jesus deals with our Unbelief and our Sins that are committed. We need to Walk and Talk even as Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did, they Walked and Talk with the Integrity and Tenacity that God Was God In Their Lives! We need to stop our Excuses, our Complaining, our lack of being Obedient and stop our Unbelief and allow Jesus to be Who He Is In Us. We need to bring Jesus to the forefront of our minds in every situation and not give in to the World Around Us.
In almost every case of our Lives we Choose to be Who We Are. Our Actions, Our Words should be more Powerful than All Of The World!!!
The Long Suffering Of Jesus … Your Actions, Your Words … Your Choice!
Be Blessed in the Mighty Name of Jesus, Our Lord and Savor!!!
Amen and Amen!!!
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The Apostles Teachings 